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((Triple Wednesday -- Page 1 of 3))
Manuel looked incredulous. “What? Why? What is wrong with it?”

“Sorry, I just--uh--” How was he supposed to explain this, he wondered? “Er--I... I just don’t really wanna be called Wormsbane...”

“Why not? You don’t think it suits you? It was such an incredible feat! We were all amazed when we watched you fell that monster single-handedly!”

Oh shit, not compliments. He couldn’t handle those. And wait, they were all watching? “Um, th-thanks, but, uh--” Hector could feel himself beginning to panic. He didn’t want to be rude, but he also really didn’t like that name. In desperation, he pointed at Zeff. “It would suit him way better, wouldn’t it? I mean, I only killed one worm. He killed like five or something, right?”

Manuel stopped. “I suppose that’s true...” He looked at the Lord Elroy. “Perhaps you would--”

“ENOUGH.” Zeff turned and began walking away. “Are you men? Or are you children? Everyone is waiting. Stop wasting time.”

That seemed to kill the conversation quite thoroughly and without mercy. Probably because Zeff was one hundred percent right, Hector thought. The three remaining servants all exchanged last looks with one another before going their separate ways in silence.

Hector ended up taking the rightmost path. He raised pillars of red-hot iron in order to illuminate everything, but there wasn’t much to see. Just an enormous and rocky corridor, one which only seemed to grow taller and wider as he went.

Soon enough, he increased his pace to a steady run. The clinking of his armor seemed louder than ever before, probably because of the echoes, so he tried to stop occasionally and just listen, in case there were any noises he hadn’t been hearing.

‘Find anything?’ came Garovel’s echoing voice after a while.

‘Just a bunch of rocks,’ said Hector.

‘Thrilling.’

‘Hey, I don’t mind. I could do with a few LESS thrills in my life, actually.’

‘Mm, is that really true? Or are you just saying that to complain? Not that I’d fault you for that, by the way. Complaining is fun. I’m an aficionado of complaining myself, in case you haven’t noticed.’

‘I have.’

‘Heh. That doesn’t answer my question, though. Do you really wish that your life had fewer thrills? Because I’m pretty sure you love this shit as much as I do, if not more.’

‘What? No. I love helping people stay safe, sure. That’s, uh... that’s like, what I live for, I guess. But--er--I don’t love meeting fuckin’... gods or whatever they are. And I definitely don’t love getting trapped in a room with some sort of... hellish abomination.’

‘Yeah, okay, I could’ve done without that, too. But at the same time, I’m kinda glad it happened.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Oh yeah. We learned a lot in Himmekel, y’know.’

‘That’s... true, I guess.’